Oral rehydration therapy

Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) is a simple treatment for dehydration associated with diarrhea, particularly gastroenteritis or gastroenteropathy, such as that caused by cholera or rotavirus. ORT consists of a solution of salts and sugars that is taken by mouth. It is used around the world, but is most important in the developing world, where it saves millions of children a year from death due to diarrhea, the second leading cause of death (after pneumonia) in children under five.